Your Iris, My Love
by sportiegrl
Summary: To him; she was a strange girl that had no fear. To her; he was a strong, but fragile man. She was his beauty, princess, Iris. He was her samurai, bodyguard, Love. An innocent meeting was all it took to start their winding pathway of love. KenshinXTomoe
1. Chapter 1: On the Way to the City

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or the characters, that's Watsuki Nobuhiro's****. BUT I do own _Your Iris, My Love _:)**

**_Your Iris, My Love_ is a property of sportiegrl/Justine Tran**

**Please enjoy!**

Chapter 1: On the Way to the City

"Tomoe, are you ready to go out into the city?" A young kunoichi with long black, braided hair and navy blue eyes asked as she walked into the said princess' room. The girl was one of the princess' personal bodyguards. The princess, Tomoe, turned around and nodded as she put a small booklet in her drawer. Tomoe had a pale, but beautiful face, black eyes and long black hair. She smelled like white plum blossoms, her signature perfume.

"Alright Tomoe! Well, let's go get Aoshi, he's in the courtyard."

Both girls walked towards the courtyard and watched some of the men finish sparring.

"Aoshi!! Are you done? We're supposed to take Tomoe out to the city today remember?" The said man had black hair and blue eyes. He along with Misao was a ninja and he was the best of the best. He was also Tomoe's personal bodyguard. He turned towards the two and nodded.

"I just finished. I will change right now and meet you two in the front. Please excuse me Tomoe-hime-sama." Aoshi bowed and started towards his room.

"Aoshi, calling me Tomoe is fine." She said with a quiet voice.

"Ah, yes…Tomoe…" Aoshi looked away awkwardly, having never spoken his master's first name before.

"Haha! We've known each other ever since we were little and it's still awkward for Aoshi to say Tomoe's name! What a weirdo!" Misao pointed at him and laughed. Aoshi looked away in irritation and walked away with an annoyed look. While Tomoe on the other hand, cracked a small smile at her two childhood friends.

After a few minutes, Aoshi met up with the two and began their walk towards the city.

-----Somewhere Else-----

"Kenshin-san, are you ready to go to the market with everyone?" The girl that asked this question had long black hair tied in a high pony tail with a big purple bow and black eyes. Her name was Kaoru, she inherited the Kamiya Dojo from her father when he was killed during the revolution a few years.

The said man, Kenshin, nodded at her and walked towards front door. He had long red hair tied in a pony tail and guarded, violet eyes. He was a skilled swordsman that wanted peace throughout the world, even if it meant sacrificing some.

"Alright is everyone ready?! Let's go get some shopping done!" Kaoru said energetically as she ran out the door. Many groans of annoyance could be heard coming from inside the house.

"Geez, I don't wanna go _shopping_. It's pointless. Aren't only the women supposed to go?" The boy that made the remark yawned as he lazily walked out of the front door. He had black spiky hair and brown eyes. He was an orphan that was staying at the Kamiya Dojo and he was also a student there.

"I agree with Yahiko, the _women_ should be the one doing the _shopping_. I mean, we're _men_, we DON'T shop." The man that agreed with the Yahiko boy walked out the front door as well with an irritated look. His name was Sanosuke, Sano for short. He had dark brown spiky hair and brown eyes. He was a powerful fighter that specialized in martial arts. He also considered himself Kenshin's best friend.

"SANO! YAHIKO! HOW DARE YOU SAY SHOPPING IS THE WOMEN'S JOB! YOU PIGS! TAKE IT BACK NOW!" Kaoru furiously yelled at the two and threatened to kick them out. Kenshin glanced back at the three and watched as the two apologized to Kaoru. When they finished he walked ahead of them and into the city area.

"Ah! Kenshin, wait up! Let's walk together." Kaoru ran to catch up with him. When she fell into step with him, she attempted to make a conversation with him, but to no luck, he was too quiet and barely said anything. The group of four quietly walked together towards the city, with the occasional rude remarks from the two boys and the threats coming from the woman of course.

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**Alright, so that's the first chapter :)**

**I don't know when my next update will be, but hopefully it'll be soon!**

**Reviews would be nice, you can tell me what you liked, hated, and what you suggest I do next. Who knows, I might incorporate your ideas into one of my chapters ;] I will say that it was your idea of course ^^**

**Also, pm me or whatever it's all good. **

**So stay tuned until next time! **

**_sportiegrl out~_**


	2. Chapter 2: Notice You, Notice Me

**Disclaimer: The Characters and Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki.**

**But **_**Your Iris, My Love**_** is owned by sportiegrl/Justine Tran**

**Hope you guys enjoy this! :)**

**OH yeah! **

**Tomoe: age 17**

**Kenshin: age 18**

**Aoshi: age 18**

**Misao: age 16**

**Kaoru: age 16**

**Sanosuke (Sano): age 17**

**Yahiko: age 13**

**Enishi: age 13**

Chapter 2: Notice You, Notice Me

-----Tomoe's POV-----

The three of us walked into the shopping district. Aoshi bought me a hat so that I wouldn't be recognized as the princess and it lessens the chance for someone trying to kill me today. Misao is almost buying everything in sight, while Aoshi is trying to stop her from doing so. The breeze feels nice out here as it's lightly blowing my purple shawl in the wind. For some strange reason the crowd is parting to the side, I don't remember anything about a parade coming to the city.

"Tomoe! Get over to the side!" I heard Misao's voice as someone grabbed me and pulled me towards the back of the crowd. I turned around and saw that it was Aoshi. He had a serious look on. I looked at the crowd of people as a group of men walked in the middle of the streets. They looked high and mighty, as if they owned the streets. The crowd of people looked scared of them, as if they were afraid to move and afraid to speak, worried that they would get killed if they did.

"That's the Shogunate. The ones that are after your and your family's lives." Aoshi's face hardened and so did Misao's. Misao moved her hands towards her weapons as if she was going to attack one of the men, but Aoshi gave her a stern look.

"As much as I want to get rid of them too, now isn't the time." He turned back towards the parading men.

While looking at the Shogunate, I noticed a flash of red. I focused my eyes on the other side of the street. Amazing, I've never seen anyone with read hair before. He looks around 18; that would make him a year older than me, making him Aoshi's age. He has stoic, deep violet eyes. They seem so cold and untrusting, but at the same time, they seem to engulf you in; like a trance. I noticed that he had three other people with him. A girl, around Misao's age, 16; a man, he seems to be my age; and a boy, he seems to be 13, the same age as my little brother Enishi. My black eyes quickly met with his violet ones and I quickly turned my gaze back to the Shogunate.

-------Kenshin's POV--------

Kaoru-san quickly bought everything she needed for the dojo. The four of us walked around more shops, Sanosuke-san was with Yahiko looking at some swords and other weapons while Kaoru-san was looking at some kimonos. After they finished, we all walked along the streets. People began parting to the side and whispers went around. Someone pulled us all to the side telling us that the Shogunate were coming. As the Shogunate were parading on the street, I noticed that the crowd looked terrified.

"Wow, these guys think that they're all that, but I bet Ke--- mmmrrfff!" I looked over at Yahiko and saw that Sanosuke-san covered his mouth.

"Shut it Yahiko! Do you wanna get us killed?! There's a time and place to say certain things and now isn't the damn time you idiot!" Sanosuke-san released his hand from Yahiko's mouth and Yahiko stayed quiet.

Someone was staring at me. I turned to the owner of the gaze, a woman that looked a year younger than me. She had black eyes, enchanting black eyes and long black hair. those eyes of hers, they seemed as if they read right through me. She then shifted her gaze towards the Shogunate and lowered her straw hat, covering her eyes. She had two companions; the man seemed to be my age while the girl seemed to be Kaoru-san's age. They both turned towards her and the three of them left. I noticed that when they were leaving, someone was following them. Is she…being chased?

------With Tomoe, Aoshi, and Misao------

It was sunset when the three walked to a little restaurant called Akabeko and ordered some food. Tomoe took off her hat after getting permission from Aoshi to do so. After a while, Misao and Aoshi exchanged some looks and stood up.

"Tomoe. Misao and I are going to…" He paused to think of the right words, "take care of some business', so we'll be right back. For your safety, stay here until then. Nothing should happen to you if you stay in here." Tomoe gave a small nod and with that, the two bodyguards left their protectee unprotected.

Tomoe sat in silence not knowing what to do while waiting for her two companions since the food didn't come out yet. The door to Akabeko opened as more customers came in.

"Four seats please Tae-san!"

"Of course Kaoru-chan!"

Tomoe looked at the new customers as they were personally seated by the manager. Tomoe observed her from her seat and noticed that those were the same people that she was looking at before! The same red-headed man was there and his eyes once again met hers. She looked away and called a waitress.

"I'll have some chilled sake please." The waitress nodded in reply. The male on lookers in the restaurant exchanged glances at one another and silently mouthed the word 'wow'; in astonishment that a girl like her would actually be sitting in a small restaurant drinking sake, when she seemed as if she was someone of high status. Eventually the food came out and Tomoe finished her share, but Aoshi and Misao were still not back.

-----Kenshin's POV------

That woman over there. She was the same one from the street. Drinking sake by herself and she has a table of food enough for three people. What happened to her two companions from earlier? It seems that there are three people outside the restaurant waiting for; one of them seems like the one that was following her on the streets. A whistle then came from Sanosuke-san.

"Man, that girl is PRETTY! I'm gonna go ask her to drink with me."

"Sano, sit down. That girl doesn't want to be bothered by you." Kaoru-san rolled her eyes.

"And why wouldn't she? Besides, I'm not the only guy that thinks she's pretty and wants to sit with her. Every guy here wants to, I bet. Heck! Kenshin probably wants to too, right? Kenshin, you think she's pretty right?"

I looked over at the three, Sanosuke-san and Yahiko looked at me eagerly while Kaoru-san shifted slightly in her seat, all three waiting to hear my answer. I looked over at the woman once more. She had a worried look on her face as she suddenly stood up and put some money on the table and quickly walked out of the restaurant; forgetting her purple shawl. As she left Akabeko, the three men once again followed her. I put money for my share of food on the table and went to grab her shawl.

"Kenshin, where are you going?" Kaoru-san stood up and looked at me with a worried face.

"I will meet you all later. I'm returning her shawl." I quickly walked out of Akabeko and went in the same direction she went. Maybe I can get there in time.

------With Aoshi and Misao-----

The clashing sounds of swords could be heard in the darkening alley. Two men in black outfits covering them from head to toe were dead on the ground. There were only two more of them to get rid of. Aoshi quickly ran forward and slashed his opponent across the chest.

"Three down," He turned to the last one that Misao was fighting, "one to go."

Misao quickly jumped back to dodge an attack and threw three kunais at the shadow assassin. The assassin was able to dodge one, hit the second one with his sword, but he missed the third one. The third one flew right at him in the chest, an instant kill.

"Alright! Well I think that's all. We should get back to Tomoe, she must be worried."

Aoshi nodded in agreement. He turned and looked behind, calling to the other end of the alley. "You two, take care of these guys."

Two people came out from the shadows of the alley and nodded. Aoshi and Misao left as they saw the "clean-up crew" carry the bodies away for disposal.

--------Tomoe's POV------

My head is slightly dizzy, the most common effect after drinking more than five cups of sake. Even though I felt dizzy, I still tried to keep my composure while walking down the streets looking for Aoshi and Misao. It got really dark, but I still continued down the streets. Before I knew it, three men covered in black from head to toe surrounded me.

"Heh, so you're Tomoe-hime-sama." The tallest one stepped forward as he spoke. I didn't move or speak; I stayed still, unwavering before the three men.

"Hmp, not much of a talker I see. No fun at all. Well might as well get this over with. I'll take care of it, so you two can just sit back and enjoy the show."

The tallest one ran towards me, I closed my eyes, accepting that I would be killed. I had no lessons of self-defense, so it was obvious that I would die in a fight. I had been ready for all that, but I wasn't expecting what was coming next.

I heard the sound of swords clashing and opened my eyes. The redheaded man from before, he had my shawl around his neck as a scarf. He quickly jumped back and ran forward again, plunging his sword into the man and pulling his sword back out. The tall man fell to the ground and his two companions quickly came at the two of us. The redheaded man pushed me to the side. There, I stood and watched as he quickly defeated the two. I stared in astonishment as the sky was crying with blood instead of tears.

He quickly sheathed his sword and walked towards me, holding my shawl out to me. My head became dizzier and dizzier as I was trying hard to keep my eyes focused on him. I remember saying something to him; it was the last thing I did that night before fainting.

-------Kenshin's POV-----

I held out the shawl to her. She stood there staring at me and she finally opened her mouth to speak. I expected her to thank me - something along those lines; what I didn't expect were the next words that came out of her mouth.

"You…really made it rain blood."

My eyes widened and her shawl slipped away from my grasp as it gently fluttered to the ground into the pools of blood. I stared at her in shock, unable to say anything or move. A few more seconds went by and she suddenly fainted. I sprung forward and caught her in my arms. I carried her in my arms and picked up her shawl as I made my way back to the Kamiya dojo; I couldn't just leave her asleep and alone on the streets.

White plum blossoms. That enticing smell was the scent of her white plum blossoms. The smell of the blood was slowing disappearing, while the smell of white plum blossoms was quickly taking over.

-----With Aoshi and Misao-----

"Where can she be?!?!?! We told her to wait at the restaurant!! What if she's in danger?!?! What are we going to do?!?!" Misao frantically yelled as she and Aoshi wandered the streets in search of their friend.

"We were gone for a while, she must have been worried. The manager at the restaurant said she left the place less than thirty minutes ago. She could be on her way home and she should still be in the area. Let's just go look around some more."

The two eventually took a break after a while of looking.

"Aoshi…what if something happened?"

Aoshi gave her a stern look, "Nonsense. I have a strong feeling that she's fine. Maybe, she's home right now?"

"And what is she isn't?"

"Then we'll continue to look for her. It's our duty as her friend and bodyguard to find her and we wont stop until we do find her."

Misao looked at Aoshi in amazement, inspired by his words.

"You're right. Nothing probably happened to Tomoe. She's fine! She'll be okay and we'll see her again tomorrow!"

Aoshi looked at Misao as she was lifting her spirits. He looked at the sky and made a silent prayer to the gods and spirits, praying for the safety of his childhood friend. They began their walk back to the palace, preparing themselves for the punishment that was going to be assigned to them from the emperor himself.

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**Alright~! there's chapter two!**

**i finished it in two days, so proud ^^**

**oh! and if you like TifaxCloud from ff7, check out my other story, _I Promise. _:]**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^^**

**_sportiegrl out~_**


	3. Chapter 3: Blood is to Ume & Iris is to?

**Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and the characters are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro**

**_Your Iris, My Love_ is property of sportiegrl/Justine Tran**

**Please enjoy~ :)  
**

Chapter 3: Blood is to Ume & Iris is to?

"Exactly what do you mean by _'We can't find her'_ hm?" Yukishiro-dono wasn't yelling at his daughter's two bodyguards. He wasn't yelling because he wasn't mad, no, that wasn't the case. Although he wasn't yelling, he was still VERY furious. He sat in his chair with his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed down into a strong glare. Both hands gripped each armrest; the grip was so hard that the two bodyguards swore that they could see Yukishiro-dono's nails dig into the wood and make indents in it.

"Yukishiro-dono, it is as we said. We went to take care of the shadow assassins and when we went back to retrieve her, she was gone." Aoshi looked at his lord with his usual stoic look. "We spent hours looking for her. We thought, maybe that there was a small chance that she returned home by herself."

"Well she didn't."

"We know Yukishiro-dono." Misao paused and looked up at her lord with guilt in her eyes. "We are extremely sorry and just as worried about her as you are. She _is_ our best friend." Misao's eyes began to tear up; sad that her best friend was missing and scared that something happened to her best friend.

Yukishiro-dono noticed the two's sad and guilty expressions. He understood the worry that they had for his daughter. Just as Misao said, the three _were _childhood friends and best friend that were practically inseparable. Yukishiro-dono put his hand on his forehead and sighed; thinking of what to do. "Alright. Rest up. We'll continue the search tomorrow."

The two ninjas nodded and headed to their rooms.

Yukishiro-dono leaned back in his chair. "What am I going to do? I can't lose another loved one." He closed his eyes and prayed, "Gods, please keep my daughter safe. My lovely wife, please watch over her as well. Tomoe and Enishi are the only ones I have left. Please help me protect them." He sighed and made his way to his room.

Enishi quickly ran down the hall from the conference room; where his father, Misao, and Aoshi were talking about Tomoe's disappearance. He made it to his room unnoticed and sat on his futon. _'Tomoe-nee-chan is missing?! Tomorrow, I have to go to town and find her!'_

-------With Kenshin and Tomoe------

Kenshin didn't have a hard time carrying Tomoe on his back as he made his way to the dojo. To his surprise, she was pretty light. He made it to the dojo pretty quick and to his surprise; he saw candles lit inside the house next to the dojo. _'Kaoru-san is probably waiting for me.' _

Kaoru heard him as he entered the house. She stood from her seat at the table and turned to see Kenshin carrying a beautiful woman on his back. Speechless, no words came from her mouth and no words came to thought. The two just stood there staring, Kaoru not knowing what to say and Kenshin waiting for her to say something.

Kaoru snapped out of her trance. "Ah, Kenshin-san, who is she?" She leaned over a little to get a better look at the woman.

"She fainted on the streets."

"I see." She paused. She examined the two, which caused her to finally notice the blood on the two's outfits, her eyes widened. "Kenshin-san! What happened?!"

A yawn was heard from behind her. "Geez Kaoru, can you be _any_ louder? It's late." Sano paused as he saw Kenshin in the entryway. "I thought I heard someone come in. Whoa!" He let out a slow whistle of admiration. "You got yourself a girl huh? Nice. I knew you could snag up any girl if you wanted." Sano gave him a wink.

Kenshin ignored the wink and looked at Kaoru. "She was being attacked, so I saved her."

"Dang, I should've went with you! How many guys were there?" Sano asked as he took a seat down at the table. Kaoru sighed and did the same. Kenshin slowly and carefully laid Tomoe down on the floor and took a seat at the table, next to her sleeping body.

Sano leaned over the table a little to get a better look at Tomoe. He whistled in admiration once again. "Dang Kenshin! You were able to pick up the girl from the restaurant?! Lucky!"

A thump was heard as Kaoru hit Sano over the head. "Quiet down Sano, don't wake her up." Glares were exchanged from the two.

"I saved her Sanosuke-san. I didn't 'pick her up' as you say."

"Well that's boring then." Sano muttered as he crossed his arms. Kaoru sighed in relief over the fact that Kenshin didn't pick up this woman. "Well since you aren't gonna have her Kenshin, can I?" Sano gave Kenshin a wink and a charming smile. Another thud was heard as Kaoru hit him over the head once again. "Geez woman! I swear I'll die one day because of you!" She just gave him another glare.

She turned to Kenshin, ignoring the man that she's been beating up. "Well exactly what happened?"

"I noticed this woman when we were on the streets and saw that there were some men following her. Those men were actually shadow assassins."

"Shadow assassins?" Kaoru gave him a questioning look.

Sano crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall behind him. "Shadow assassins are the more highly skilled assassins. They're usually used by the rich to get rid of major threats or other upper class people. They're the ones that will never go down in history."

Kenshin nodded. "Sanosuke-san is correct. When I followed her out the restaurant, I found her surrounded by three shadow assassins. I saved her and she ended up fainting. I thought she fainted from the blood, but turns out she was just drunk."

"I see. Well both of you are okay right?" Kaoru asked with worry. Kenshin merely nodded. "Do you know her name?" Kenshin shook his head, indicating that he had no clue. "Well then, Kenshin-san could you come with me and bring her to a room?" She stood from the table and waited for Kenshin as he leaned over to pick up Tomoe. He carried the woman as he followed Kaoru down the hall to the guest room.

"Geez, just confess to him already. Obvious much?" Sano snorted and rolled his eyes. He stood from the table and walked a few steps down the hall; he turned left and entered his room with a yawn.

Kenshin followed Kaoru down the hallway. Right across from Kenshin's room, on the right side of the hallway, was another guess room. They stepped in and Kenshin waited as Kaoru was setting up the futon and blanket.

"All done. Now, just set her down." Kenshin did as told. He set her down under the blanket.

"Mmm." Tomoe groaned a little as she snuggled a little deeper under the blanket. Kenshin, lost in his own little world again, moved his hand forward and moved some strands of hair out of her face. He sniffed the air a little, _'White plum blossoms, ume.'_

"Kenshin-san?" Kenshin snapped his hand back and jumped a little. He abruptly stood up from the ground and walked over to the table that was on the side of the wall. He put Tomoe's purple shawl on there and turned to walk out of the room. He made his way to his door but paused when he heard Kaoru call after him.

Kaoru stepped out of the room and slid the shoji close. "Kenshin-san, I'm glad that you're alright." She gave him a small smile.

He looked at her and gave a small nod. "Goodnight Kaoru-san." He gave a bow and walked inside his room and slid the shoji close.

Kaoru whispered in a soft voice, "Goodnight, Kenshin." And made her was up the hall to her own room.

-------The Next Morning-------

The bright light shined in Tomoe's face as she awoke from her slumber. Her eyes opened and squinted at the light. She put an arm over her eyes to block out the sun. _'What happened?'_ She grunted as images from the night before flashed into her mind. She quickly jolted up from her bed as she recollected her memories of the red headed man. She remembered some things from the previous night but not all.

She looked at her surroundings. "Where am I?" She stood from the futon and looked around the room again. A spare set of clothes was placed next to the futon. She quickly changed out of her bloodstained kimono and into the clean one.

She looked around again and spotted her purple shawl on a table and went to grab it. As she finished wrapping it around her arms, she looked back at her futon. "Maybe I should clean that up." She went over to the futon and began folding the blankets and folded up the futon. Although she was a princess, she still did chores around the house. Sure she was pampered by her father, but he wanted her to learn how to do her own things, including; cooking, laundry, cleaning, and anything more he could think of.

She finished with the futon and headed to the door. She quietly slid it open and slipped out of her room. She stood in the hallway, looking left and right, not knowing which way to go. She looked at her choices. _'Go left, go right, or…'_ She crept to the door across from the room she was sleeping in.

She quietly slid the shoji open and walked inside. The window was open, blowing a light breeze inside the room. She froze as she saw the red headed man from yesterday sleeping in the corner next to the window in sitting position, hugging his sword. _'How could he be comfortable like that?'_ She saw him slightly flinch from the cold breeze. _'Maybe he's cold…'_

She quietly walked over to the window, trying not to wake up the red headed man. She slowly closed the window and looked back at the sleeping red head. He shivered a little again. _'He's still cold?'_ She looked around the room, but she wasn't able to find a blanket. An idea came to her as she looked at the shawl that was wrapped around her arms._ 'I could lend him this. I could let him borrow this for a moment. Especially since I owe him my life. And he was gentlemanly enough to let me have my own room.'_ She unwrapped herself of her shawl and began inching forward to place it on the red head.

Her arms were almost around him until. The red headed man's purple eye flashed open and changed into an amber color. His left arm grabbed her right one in a tight grip and pushed forward, causing her to stumble back a little. Her eyes widened as she was pushed to the ground and the red headed man was on top of her; his right hand wielding a sword pressed against her throat.

A few seconds passed and his eyes widened, changing from amber back to the purple shade. He jumped back and withdrew his sword; putting it back in its' sheath. Tomoe sat up. Her hand touched her throat, feeling if there was a cut. She gave a small sigh of relief.

"What were you doing?" He looked at her with untrusting eyes.

"I saw you shivering so I was trying to wrap my shawl around you like a blanket since I couldn't find a blanket in here." She looked at him with unwavering eyes. _'Why should I be scared if I haven't done anything wrong?'_

"…" He looked at her shawl and then at her. "I'm sorry." He paused again. "What is your name?"

"Yukishiro Tomoe."

His brows furrowed in deep thought. _'Where have I heard that name before?'_ Then it clicked to him "You are the princess…?"

She nodded. "Yes I am. And you are…?"

"Kenshin. Himura Kenshin."

"Nice to meet you Kenshin-san." She sat on her knees in formal style and bowed to him in respect.

He did the same. "Nice to meet you as well, Yukishiro-hime-sama."

"Tomoe is fine."

"…Tomoe-hime-sama."

"Just Tomoe." She gave a small smile. _'Kenshin-san is similar to Aoshi."_

"…Tomoe…" He looked away, averting his eyes. "Then. Kenshin is fine as well."

She gave a small smile as she nodded. "Kenshin."

He looked at her through the corner of his eyes and away again.

The door slid open. "Kenshin-san wake up. I made—" Kaoru looked with surprise as she saw Tomoe and Kenshin sitting in a formal style in front of one another. "Ano…" Kaoru recovered from her shock and looked at Tomoe with a smile plastered on her face. "You're up! I'm Kamiya Kaoru. I run this dojo and house. May I ask what your name is?"

"Nice to meet you Kaoru-san." She paused to turn her body around to Kaoru. She bowed in a formal style and continued. "I am Yukishiro Tomoe."

Kaoru paused for a second, trying to remember where she heard the name from. Her eyes immediately widened, "YOU'RE THE PRINCESS?!"

--------A Few Moments Later------

Everyone was sitting around the table, Sano and Yahiko's bowls of rice were already empty while Tomoe, Kenshin, and Kaoru were still eating. Tomoe's kimono was cleaned from the blood and it was laid on the floor next to her seat.

The room was empty; no one knew what to say or how to say what they were thinking.

"So…" Yahiko started, "you're really the princess? Or are you just a fake?"

"YAHIKO!" Kaoru slammed her hands on the table. "How dare you ask someone that? Especially the princess! Don't you have any manners?!"

Yahiko huffed as he folded his arms. "Well, she's a complete stranger. What if she's lying and she's actually a murderer or thief?" He grunted and turned his head to the side, giving an annoyed look.

Kaoru sighed and shook her head. She turned to Tomoe. "I'm sorry Yukishiro-hime-same. Yahiko isn't very good with manners."

Tomoe looked at Yahiko and back to Kaoru. "It's fine. My brother is pretty similar to Yahiko-kun. And Tomoe is fine."

"So, Tomoe-chan, what exactly were you doing wandering the city alone?" Sano asked her with flirting look.

She looked at him in the eyes as she recalled the events of that night. "My friends and I were visiting the city. We went to that restaurant…Akabeko was it?" Sano nodded at her, indicating that she was correct. "Well," she continued, "my friends said they would be back and left the restaurant. After a while, they still weren't back so I went to go find them. I was wandering the streets until…until…" She stopped and paused again. She looked down at the table. "I can't remember what happened afterwards."

"You were surrounded by three shadow assassins that wanted to kill you and I saved you." Kenshin finished for her and continued to eat his breakfast.

Tomoe's looked at him. Her eyes widened a little as the rest of her memories came back to her. "That's right. And you…Kenshin, you made it rain blood."

Everyone went silent. Everyone besides Tomoe and Kenshin were wondering what she meant. Raining blood?

Kenshin stopped and looked at her, with his eyes slightly widening. Those words managed to freeze him every time, just like last night. His chopsticks slipped from his hands and a clang was heard as they hit the table.

This brought a deeper silence to the room. Kenshin NEVER made a blunder before. And here was this princess who has been here for less than a day and she already made him freeze in his tracks and drop his chopsticks. Exactly what was going on between the two?

"Last night," she paused, thinking back on her memories. "You really did make it rain blood. She looked at him. Again, with those unwavering eyes.

Kenshin's eyes widened more. _'Why? Why is it as if she can see right through me?'_

Kenshin finally regained his composure. He sat up straight and looked at her with cold eyes. "I don't kill indiscriminately, only armed members of the Bakufu that oppose us. NEVER an unarmed man."

Everyone felt the tension that rose between the two. But they couldn't say anything. No, it wasn't that they couldn't, it was that they didn't know _what_ to say. So they kept to themselves and silently watched the two.

She held her mask quite well; something she has learned to do over the years. From listening to the court and servants at the palace gossip and the ridiculous nobles, she learned how to hold her mask quite well; learning how to not show any emotion, no matter the situation. And in front of this red headed man's cold eyes, it was still held quite well.

"So people that carry swords are bad and people that don't carry swords are good? If I were wielding a sword last night, would you have killed me along with those men?"

He flinched a little, "That is…" He didn't know how to respond.

"And this morning?"

His eyes widened as he remembered the incident that occurred this morning.

"You talk big, saying you would never harm a civilian, but from what occurred this morning; I highly doubt that." She grabbed her kimono as she got up from her seat and bowed to everyone. "Thank you for the meal and allowing me to stay here for the night. I will take my leave now." She turned towards the door.

No one moved and no one knew what to say.

She paused before reaching the door, slightly turning her head around and looked at Kenshin. "If we happen to meet again, maybe by then you will have an answer for me. Farewell." And she walked out.

------Kenshin's POV------

Moments passed after Tomoe left the Kamiya household. Kaoru-san finished cleaning up the dishes and sat down at the table where Yahiko, Sanosuke-san, and I were still seated at.

"Raining blood? Kenshin, what did she mean by that?" Yahiko looked at me with curious eyes.

"…At the end of tragic scenes, they say that 'a rain of blood falls.' Last night, after I saved her, she must have said that because of the three killings from last night. It was probably her first time seeing a killing, so that was why she said that." She reminds me of something, but what?

"Kenshin, what did she mean about the incident that occurred this morning?" Kaoru-san looked at me with big, worried eyes.

"…I almost killed her."

"WHAT?" Sanosuke-san had a surprised look on is face. "How could that have happened?!" He still hasn't gotten over his shock apparently.

"…"

"Sano! Leave Kenshin alone! It's not like it was on purpose!" Kaoru-san had a fierce look in her eyes, always ready to defend me anytime. Kaoru-san and Sanosuke-san began their daily bickering and Yahiko just sat back and enjoyed the scene before him.

Tomoe…what does she remind me of? The white plum blossoms… I thought back as Hiko-shishou's words played in my mind. I closed my eyes, remembering what he told me many years before. _"The smell of blood is as common as the smell of umes."_ What else? It wasn't only that. There was something else he said as well.

"Kenshin? Are you alright?" I snapped out of my thoughts as I saw everyone looking at me with worried and curious looks.

I merely nodded.

"I wonder if Tomoe made back to the palace alright." Kaoru-san paused as she took a look out the window. "It's raining pretty heavy outside."

And she didn't take an umbrella. I abruptly stood up and headed to the door, grabbing an umbrella along the way.

"Kenshin, where are you going?" The three stood from their seats as well.

I turned my head slightly to Kaoru-san. "She left without an umbrella." I walked out the door right afterwards.

As I stepped out and walked a few feet, I didn't think that I would see her standing out there in the rain.

She was soaked in the rain from head-to-toe. She turned around as she heard my footsteps. Her long ebony hair clung to her face as her kimono clung to her body. Even in the rain she was a beauty, even in the bloody rain she still bloomed. Just like an iris… Then, Shishou's words floated through my head once again. _"An iris flower blooms best in the rain. No matter how harsh the conditions are, an iris is conspicuous in the rain, even in a sea of blood, it will still be the most beautiful one in bloom."_

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked her in the eyes; her deep, penetrating black eyes.

"What are you doing in the rain?" I walked closer to her and held the umbrella over the both of us.

"I _was_ going to leave, but I don't know my way home."

I turned and looked back at the house, noticing that Kaoru-san, Sanosuke-san, and Yahiko were standing at the doorway observing what was going on. I turned back and looked at Tomoe. "It's raining quite hard. Spending another night here won't hurt."

She nodded and began walking, but soon paused and turned to face me.

I stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"We meet yet again. Do you have the answer?"

"No."

She turned and began walking again. I followed in step, making sure to cover the both of us with the umbrella.

"Then perhaps next time you'll have an answer." Maybe.

We reached the doorstep and Kaoru-san already brought out towels for us to use. We went inside to dry ourselves.

"Tomoe, I'll lend you some spare clothes." She nodded as she followed Kaoru-san to the back. The rest of the day led on as everyone asked Tomoe questions about her life in the palace and Tomoe just replied.

---------Back at the Palace--------

"Again, no sign of her." Aoshi said to Misao as they made their way back to the palace. Both were soaked from head-to-toe from searching in the rain.

"How was the search?" Yukishiro-dono asked as he met them at the front doors. His soaked attire also showed that he was out searching for his daughter as well.

"No good." Misao shook her head in dismay. "No sign of her today. How about your search Yukishiro-dono?"

"Same." He put a hand on his head and sighed. "And Enishi tried getting out of the palace as well."

"He wants to look for Tomoe-hime-sama as well. I saw him running back to his room as we were leaving the conference room last night."

"That's probably true Aoshi. He loves his sister so much, that would be the only drive for him to want to leave the palace." Yukishiro-dono sighed again and began making his way to his room. "You two get some rest. We have another search tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Yukishiro-dono." Aoshi and Misao said in unison and made their way down the hall.

"We'll definitely find her tomorrow for sure!" Misao had a determined look in her eyes.

Aoshi glanced at her and nodded. "I have a feeling we will."

* * *

**Alright chapter 3 is up!! :)**

**it's been a while i know. sorry :(**

**I wanna thank **tsunami1156** for reviewing :) Thanks!**

**And i wanna thank **Bluemoon** as well :) You really brought my hopes back up ^^ I just remembered why i wanted to write fanfics, to support my fave couples! and I promised myself i wouldn't take anything to heart as long as i wrote stories that i was satisfied with. :) So i wanna give you a special thanks :) If i'm still bad at the descriptions and transitions, please help me out . just tell me more specific. an example would help :)**

**Please read and review! :)**

**_-sportiegrl out~_  
**


	4. Chapter 4: My Answer

**Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and the characters all belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro**

**_You Iris, My Love _belongs only to sportiegrl/Justine Tran**

**Please enjoy!! :)  
**

Chapter 4:My Answer

-------The Next Morning Tomoe's POV--------

It was still early when I woke up and changed into my original kimono. Kaoru was kind enough to help me dry it last night. I'm very thankful to her. She really is a nice person.

I stepped outside my room and made my way to the kitchen. These people have been so nice and welcoming to me, a complete stranger, so I might as well cook them something to show my gratitude.

I began chopping some vegetables and meat and started the fire to cook everything. I prepared the rice as well. I was almost done and then I heard someone barge through the door.

"Ken-san! I'm back!" A woman with long dark hair and dark eyes walked through the door. She seemed really mature and she was a pretty woman. She wore a blue michiyuki over a lavender kimono. She looked at me with surprise. "Ano…I'm Takani Megumi and you are?"

I gave her a bow. "Yukishiro Tomoe. It's a pleasure Megumi-san."

"Ah! The princess?!" Her jaw lowered as shock consumed her face. I just nodded in reply.

"Wow! Something smells good!" Yahiko exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen with an excited look. "This is WAY better than the scraps that the Hag gives us!" A thud was heard as Kaoru hit him over the head and a cry was heard from his lips.

"You should be happy that I at least make you something." She sniffed the air. "But this smells really good Tomoe." She gave me a smile.

"I'm glad to hear." I paused to bow. "Good morning everyone." I greeted as Sanosuke and Kenshin walked into the kitchen as well.

"Wow, smells delicious!" Sanosuke gave a happy grin as he put an arm around me.

Kenshin nodded in agreement as he sniffed the air. "Sanosuke-san, Tomoe won't be able to finish cooking unless you let her go." Sanosuke grinned wider and removed his arm, allowing me to continue preparing breakfast.

"AHEM!" Megumi-san cleared her throat.

"Ah! Kitsune-onna!" Sanosuke pointed at her as he yelled out her nickname.

"What was that?" She glared at him while he just laughed in reply. "Ken-san! I'm back!" She quickly ran to Kenshin and flung her arms around him, burying her face into his neck.

Kenshin didn't do anything; he just stood there and allowed this to happen. "Welcome back Megumi-san." Was all he said.

"KITSUNE-ONNA! GET OFF HIM YOU VIXEN!" Kaoru yelled as she glared at Megumi-san.

Megumi-san let go of Kenshin and began arguing with Kaoru, calling her something along the lines of a child and inexperienced.

I set the cooked food on the table and paused, wondering if I should stop the two from their bickering.

"Don't worry Tomoe-san, they're always like that." Yahiko said as he grabbed his chopsticks, ready to eat. "This looks delicious! Thanks Tomoe-san!"

I just nodded.

"The kid is right, smells good as well." Sanosuke-san took a bite of his food. "Mmm! This IS good!"

Kenshin sat next to me and nodded in agreement as soon as he tasted the food.

Kaoru and Megumi-san eventually sat down and began eating as well, commenting on how delicious it was.

"I'm glad you all like it." I bowed a little.

"So how is that you managed to snag the princess and bring her to this dump anyways?" Megumi-san smirked at her remark towards the house.

"You old fox!" Kaoru immediately slammed her hand on the table.

"Geez you're so loud Kaoru. I don't think that KEN-SAN would want such a loud woman by him." Megumi-san smirked again and continued with her food.

Kaoru's face flushed a bright red as she glanced at Kenshin to see his reaction, but to her disappointment he had no response. He was acting as if nothing happened. Kaoru's shoulders slumped a little as she continued eating.

"Well basically, Kenshin saved Tomoe's life and she spent the night here for a couple of days." Sanosuke answered Megumi-san.

Breakfast went by quickly. Megumi-san was clinging onto Kenshin most of the time and it seemed as if he just ignored her when it happened. Kaoru and I cleaned the dishes while Yahiko and Sanosuke lounged around.

"The sky is clear. Shall I take you back?"

I turned to see Kenshin behind me waiting for my answer.

I gave simple nod in reply.

"We could all go with you Tomoe." Kaoru walked over to me with a smile. "I'm pretty sure everyone would like to see you off."

Sanosuke and Yahiko's voices of agreement were heard.

"That is fine with me." I walked over and slipped on my sandals. Everyone did the same and we all headed out the door.

-------In The City------

They made their way through the city. Tomoe made sure to remember everything: the stores, the food stands, and most importantly the way from the Kamiya residence to the palace.

Tomoe and her companions walked further, near the Akabeko. Each noticed a crowd circled around something outside of the restaurant.

"Wonder what's going on?" Yahiko said as he walked closer to the group of people.

"I'm with ya." Sano followed in suit and so did everyone else.

In the middle of the circle was a boy around Yahiko's age with back hair and black eyes. "Why should I apologize if you were the one at fault?!" The boy yelled with anger in his eyes. He didn't seem like regular boys around the city, he seemed of higher status, but the man that picked a fight with this child didn't seem to notice that.

"You little brat!" The man unsheathed his sword. "This will teach you a lesson or two!" He raised his sword, ready to swing at the boy.

"ENISHI!" Tomoe pushed her way through the crowd and ran in between the man and Enishi. She threw her arms around Enishi and fell to her knees, which made her a head taller than him, shielding him from the swing of the sword.

"Tomoe!" Her companions yelled after her as they pushed through the crowd to the front.

The clanging of two swords was heard throughout the crowd, one sword stopping the other in its tracks.

Tomoe was prepared for the deathblow, but opened her eyes when she noticed nothing happened. She released Enishi and turned around, still on her knees, and saw Kenshin's body in front of hers, protecting her from the man. His hand was around the hilt of his sword as he held a defensive stance against the man that was nearly a head taller than him.

The man struggled as he tried pushing Kenshin's sword down, but it didn't work. Kenshin was as stiff as a rock, he wasn't willing to budge until he knew that Tomoe wasn't in harms way. The man growled in anger and drew back his sword. He stepped back a little and went into an offensive stance. Kenshin moved his sword to his side and glared at the man, anger seething from him as his purple eyes turned into an amber color. He stood protectively in front of Tomoe making sure no harm was coming to her.

"Get out of the way! That brat is mine!" The man yelled.

"And do you have any clue who this _brat_ is?" A deep and threatening voice came from the crowd. The people in the crowd cleared a pathway for the owner of the voice. Murmurs went through the crowd as the man stepped forward.

"Y-Y-Yukishiro-dono!" The man immediately dropped hi sword and fell to his knees and kneeled on the ground when he saw the emperor.

Yukishiro-dono didn't have his usual calm and collected face on. Instead, it was a threatening one, something dark, maybe darker and more threatening than the Battousai's look. He tried his best keeping calm when he found his daughter was missing, but the scene he just saw caused him to disregard everything about being noble.

"Otou-san." Tomoe said with a soft voice.

He looked from his daughter and son to the man kneeling on the ground. "Arrest this man for attempt of murder. Not only for attempt of murder, but also for attempt of killing the prince and princess."

"NO! Please sir! I didn't know they were the prince and princess!" The man begged as the imperial soldiers were picking him off the ground and onto his feet.

Yukishiro-dono wasn't like other nobles. He had a big heart and was one that deeply cared about his kingdom and people. He turned and gave another glare. "Then if they were a regular civilian you would have done the same thing?"

The man was speechless. He gave no effort as the soldiers dragged him away. The crowd dispersed as the other guards shooed them away.

"Tomoe-hime-sama we're glad you're okay." Aoshi said as he helped her up.

"Tomoe is fine Aoshi." She said as she gave a small smile.

"TOMOE!!!" Misao jumped at Tomoe and threw her arms around the princess. "Don't you EVER disappear again!" Misao yelled as she cried.

"Hai, hai. I'm sorry Misao." Tomoe said as she patted Misao's back to comfort her. Misao finally released her and wiped away the tears.

Tomoe felt a tug at the kimono sleeve. "Nee-chan!" Enishi hugged his beloved sister. She did the same in return.

"And nothing for your father, whom you worried for two days in a row?"

Tomoe gave a small smile and walked to her father, giving him a hug as well.

"And what about you Enishi?"

Enishi ran to his father and gave him a hug too. Their father had a warm and loving smile.

"I'm glad you two are alright." He then directed his attention towards his daughter's companions. He looked at Kenshin and stepped forward to him as Kenshin put his sword in his sheath. "Thank you young man for protecting my daughter and son."

Kenshin merely nodded in reply.

"You all seem to know my daughter, since it were you all that shouted after her earlier."

They all just nodded, not knowing what to say. They just met the princess and now the king! What were they supposed to say?!

"Otou-san, they're my new friends. They let me stay at their house these past two nights." Tomoe said. She then motioned toward Kenshin. "And Kenshin saved my life from three shadow assassins two nights ago."

Yukishiro-dono's eyes widened as did Aoshi and Misao's. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! Please come with me back to the palace Kenshin-san." Yukishiro-dono gave him a wide smile and turned around, making his way back to the palace.

Kenshin was hesitant at first but decided to follow anyways. Kaoru and the others began to follow as well.

"Yukishiro-dono, did you also mean for the others to follow as well?" Aoshi asked as he looked at them with untrusting eyes.

"Hm…I'm sorry. I wasn't clear. I only wanted Kenshin to follow. I wanted to talk to him in private." He bowed and gave an apologetic look. "But, here's a token of gratitude for sheltering my daughter." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a little pouch, handing it to Kaoru.

She opened the pouch and gasped at the amount. "There are over 20 gold coins!" The other's eyes widened and they peered in the bag as well.

"Thank you sir!" Sano exclaimed as he bowed. "Yeah! Let's go eat!" Sano said as he made his way to Akabeko with Yahiko and Megumi following him.

Kaoru stood there looking at Kenshin with a worried look. Yukishiro-dono noticed this, "Kenshin-san will be fine. Don't worry." He gave her a polite smile.

She gave a small nod, "I'll see you at home then Kenshin."

He gave a mere nod as she walked away to Akabeko.

"Now, let us go back home." Yukishiro-dono said as he began his walk home as the guards, Aoshi, Misao, Enishi, Tomoe, and Kenshin followed.

---------At the Palace-------

It's been a little over an hour since Kenshin went into the meeting room alone with Tomoe's father. Everyone was already asleep, except for some guards, Tomoe, and the two in the conference room.

Tomoe was in the garden admiring the plants as she waited for the two to come out from the room. She took a seat on the steps of the house as she watched the colorful garden that her mother created long ago.

The sound of a shoji door being slid open could be heard. She turned around to see her father and Kenshin standing behind her, the older gentleman had a gentle smile while the younger had a stoic look.

"Well Kenshin, I'll leave this matter to you. Goodnight you two." He kept his smile as he walked to his room.

The two were left alone as Kenshin took a seat next to Tomoe on the steps. They sat in silence for what felt like eternity to Tomoe.

Finally, she broke the ice. "What was it that my father talked to you about?" She looked at him from the corner of her eyes to see what his reaction would be.

"I'm your new body guard." He replied, never taking his eyes off the garden.

"I see."

Again, there was silence.

"An iris." Kenshin said in a low voice.

"Excuse me?" She turned and gave him a curious look.

He still didn't take his eyes off the garden. "There's an iris in the garden."

She looked in the same direction as him and managed to spot the iris he was talking about.

"You're like an iris."

She turned to him and gave him another curious gaze. "What do you mean?"

He finally turned his attention to her, looking at her in the eyes. "You bloom best in the rain." And he looked back at the garden.

"…You are one strange man." She shook her head, not understanding what was going on in her red headed companions' mind.

"I thought about your question and I have an answer." He paused. Looking through the corner of his eyes, he saw Tomoe look at him with curious eyes yet again, for the third time tonight. "At breakfast yesterday, I bragged how I would never kill a civilian, but I almost killed you that morning. If you came any closer that morning I would have…" He trailed off, not even wanting to say the next words. "But I have my answer." He continued, "I, whether you had a sword or not, I wouldn't kill you. No, I couldn't kill you. Whatever happens I could never do that to you. Not to you…never." Kenshin looked at her in the eyes. "No matter what, I swear I'll protected you." He saw her face color a little and she gave him a soft, genuine smile.

The two spent the rest of the night staring at the garden, enjoying one another's company.

'_I swear I'll always protect you, my iris…'_

_

* * *

_**Alright! **

**There's chapter 4!!**

**Yeah, two chapters in two days x]**

**I'm on a roll x] lol**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! :)  
**

**_- sportiegrl out~_  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Visits

**Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and characters are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro**

**_Your Iris, My Love_ is property of sportiegrl/Justine Tran**

**enjoy!!! :)  
**

Chapter 5: Visits

"WHAT?!" Sano, Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko yelled in unison as they heard Kenshin's words.

"What do you _mean_ you're moving out Kenshin-san?" Kaoru asked as her anger and sadness was slowly rising.

"Exactly as I stated previously Kaoru-san. I am to be Tomoe's bodyguard."

"But she already has two!" Megumi shouted. "Why do you need to be one if she already has two!? Exactly how many bodyguards does one girl need?"

"Yukishiro-dono directly asked me himself to be her bodyguard, therefore, I could not refuse." Kenshin's calm exterior never changed.

"B-but!" Kaoru was at a loss for words. "You can't just up and leave! We're your friends and you can't just leave us all like that!" She slammed her fist on the table as her tears began forming.

Kenshin shifted his eyes to the side; he was never one that could stand a woman's tears. "That is true…but this is a duty I must fulfill. Tomoe was almost killed _twice_ and it was lucky that I was able to save her both times since her bodyguards were not there."

The shoji door behind Kenshin slid open and hit the wall with the bang. An annoyed Aoshi stood on the other side. "Are you saying we couldn't fulfill our duty and save Tomoe-hime?" His eyes narrowed into a glare as he stared down at Kenshin.

Kenshin turned to Aoshi and gave him an indifferent look. "I'm simply stating that if I were not _there_, Tomoe wouldn't be _here_, and whose responsibility was it at the time to protect her?"

Aoshi gripped the hilt of his sword. Kenshin just sat there and watched him, waiting to see what he would do next.

"It wasn't anyone's fault but mine that I was placed in that situation. It was because of my own stupidity, so please stop arguing and blaming each other." Tomoe's brows were slightly furrowed as she stepped into the room.

Kenshin and Aoshi slightly bowed, "Sorry." Both said in unison.

A small snicker came from behind her. "Ooohh~ you guys got in trouble~" Misao said in a sing-song voice. She smirked at Kenshin. "Already getting in trouble and it's only your first day on the job? Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Kenshin gripped his hand on his hilt as he glared at the young kunoichi.

"Misao, stop teasing." Tomoe said in a stern voice. "Kenshin, relax, she meant no harm. _Right _Misao?"

Misao felt a small shiver go down her spine. Oh boy was she scary whenever she was mad. "Sorry Kenshin." Kenshin gave a small bow of acknowledgement.

"Well, we'll be outside until you're done." Tomoe gave a small bow and walked to the front yard. Misao followed as Aoshi gave a slight glare at Kenshin, who did the same in return, and followed his two best friends after sliding the shoji door close.

"…" The whole room was quiet. None of them knew what to say in order to convince Kenshin to stay.

"I guess I'll take my leave now since they're waiting for me outside." Kenshin stood and grabbed his small bag of clothes.

"Wait! Just, just wait a minute!" Kaoru shouted as she ran to Kenshin and grabbed his sleeve.

Kenshin just looked at her, waiting for her to continue. His eyes seemed to pierce right through her.

Kaoru diverted her eyes from his with slight fear and immediately let go of his sleeve. "I-I—"

"I'm sorry Kaoru-san." Kenshin turned and walked away to meet with his new companions.

"Kaoru! How can you just let him walk out like that and get taken away by someone he's only known for a few days?! Well?! Go on and chase after him!" Megumi yelled.

She kept her gaze to the ground. "I never had a chance since the beginning anyways."

"Huh?" Megumi raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"He never even saw me as a woman. His sorry…it was because he didn't love me." She said in a low voice as she dropped to her knees and covered her face.

"…" Everyone stayed silent as they saw Kaoru weep like there was no tomorrow.

The shoji door slid open again. "Ano…Thank you for letting Kenshin come with us and if you would like, you could come and visit him at the palace whenever you like. You just have to tell the guards your names and you'll be welcome inside." Tomoe said as she walked him with a polite look. She saw the tension in the room and saw Kaoru crying on floor. She took a step forward, "Kaoru…"

"Don't go near her." Megumi warned as she gave Tomoe a small glare.

"What?" Tomoe furrowed her brows slightly in confusion.

"You caused this mess, so just leave it alone." Megumi's glare hardened.

"Megumi!" Sanosuke warned. He turned to Tomoe and gave her a smile. "Maybe it's best if you return home. It's nothing serious here so you don't need to worry about it. We'll try to visit you guys soon."

Tomoe gave a small nod, bow, said her goodbyes, and left.

"Well, let's go back home!" Misao said in a cheerful voice as she skipped along the streets.

Misao then stopped and waited for the others to catch up. Tomoe and Kenshin walked side-by-side and Misao fell into step with Aoshi who was behind Tomoe and Kenshin.

"You left the house pretty early." Tomoe said as she glanced at Kenshin.

"There was nothing left to talk about."

"Kaoru was crying." She glanced at him again seeing what his reaction was.

"…" He stopped walking.

Tomoe gave him a curious look and stopped as well. "Are you perhaps…regretting leaving?"

He looked at her straight in the eyes and unlike Kaoru, she never diverted her eyes from his. She was perhaps one of maybe the five people in his life to be able to keep eye contact with him without being scared or something along those lines. "You really are a strange one." He said in a low voice and continued walking.

Tomoe continued to look at him with a very slight expression of confusion.

Kenshin stopped and turned back to her. "Are you coming?"

Tomoe nodded and quickly went to catch up to him. She turned around to Aoshi and Misao, "Hurry up you two." She called out.

"How dare he call Tomoe strange." Aoshi said in a low voice.

"Calm down Aoshi. He's not all that bad." Misao said as they walked towards the two.

"He's a total stranger and he's our partner in caring for Tomoe's life."

"So far he's only done nothing but saving her. We should be grateful to him."

Aoshi crossed his arms as he walked. "He's a strong person meaning we can't exactly trust him on the spot."

Misao sighed. "I guess that true. We'll just keep our eyes on him for the time being. But you really should get to know him since he'll be out partner from now on."

Aoshi scoffed. "No."

Misao rolled her eyes. "Stubborn little brat."

Aoshi glared at her through the corner of his eyes and Misao stuck her tongue out at him in return.

Tomoe gave a small giggle as she saw the two ninjas.

"What are they doing?" Kenshin asked as he observed the two.

"They're daily teasing." Tomoe had a small smile on her lips.

Kenshin raised a brow.

"Oh that's right you don't know. Well those two are a couple and ever since we were little they've always been like that."

"Those two?" He glanced at them and Tomoe nodded. "They're really opposite."

Tomoe nodded. "Opposites attract. Besides I think they're perfect together. They keep each other in check and fill in each other's holes." Tomoe said with a small smile.

"Hm…"

---------At the Palace------------

"We're finally home!" Misao shouted in glee as she ran through the gates. "Katsura-san!"

Hearing the name, Tomoe and Aoshi rushed through the gates as well and Kenshin followed them wondering what was going on.

A man in his mid-20s had his black hair tied in a short pony tail and his brown eyes were filled with warmth as he saw Misao, Aoshi, and Tomoe come in through the gates. He had a mature and idolizing aura about him that made Kenshin stop and stare. Even though he had a mature composition, he also seemed to be a loving and warm man as well as a skilled swordsman.

"Katsura-san, it's been a while." Tomoe gave a sweet smile and bowed.

"Welcome back Katsura-san." Aoshi bowed in respect.

"Thank you all, it's good to visit." Katsura replied with a warm smile.

"Katsura-san, where's Ikumatsu-san?" Misao asked.

"She's at home, the doctor instructed that was to be on bed rest until the baby was born." Katsura chuckled. "But before that, shouldn't you introduce me to your new friend?" He said and looked at Kenshin.

"Katsura-san, this is Kenshin, my third bodyguard." Tomoe said.

"Nice to meet you Kenshin." He greeted with a smile.

"Nice to meet you as well." Kenshin bowed.

"Hm…" Katsura took a step closer to Kenshin.

Kenshin didn't move, but observed Katsura's every movement, wondering what he was doing.

Katsura smirked, "Let's fight."

"What? Wait!" Tomoe's eyes widened.

"Alright." Kenshin replied as he followed Katsura to the training grounds.

"Wait a minute!" Tomoe yelled as she, Misao, and Aoshi followed after them.

"You ready? I won't go easy on you." Katsura smirked as he grabbed a bamboo sword and tossed another one to Kenshin. Kenshin nodded as he caught the training sword.

"Wait!" Tomoe shouted, but they just ignored her. "Hey—"

"Tomoe, I believe that it is best to just let them be." Aoshi put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from interfering. "I think Katsura-san is just trying to test his skill since he _is_ to be your bodyguard as well."

"…" Tomoe sighed. "I guess."

"Besides! We haven't seen Katsura-san fight in a long time; it'll be awesome to see it again!" Misao said in an enthusiastic voice. Aoshi and Tomoe nodded in agreement.

Katsura and Kenshin stood in front of one another, waiting for the other to move, but none did. Katsura smirked and lunged forward at Kenshin. Kenshin quickly stepped to the left and tried to hit his abdomen. Katsura moved his sword, facing it downward, stopping the hit just in time. Kenshin jump back as did Katsura. They ran towards each other, Kenshin swung from above, but Katsura jumped to the side and swung his sword sideways, at Kenshin's side. Kenshin immediately blocked it and stepped back.

Aoshi furrowed his brows in thought as he observed the battle. _'Amazing. Usually Katsura-san's opponent would be dead or on the ground kneeling in pain by now. Just who is this guy?'_

After a long battle, Kenshin and Katsura were still at it. Both were panting and sweating from the long practice fight.

Katsura smiled and dropped his sword to his side. "A draw?" Kenshin smiled and dropped his sword as well. He used his sleeve and wiped away some of his sweat from his forehead.

"Well I should be heading out." Katsura put the sword back and began heading towards the gates.

"You don't want to bathe first? You're sweating all over." Tomoe asked.

Katsura smiled. "Sweat won't kill me. Now I best be getting along, Ikumatsu is waiting."

Tomoe nodded. "Bye Katsura-san." Everyone said in unison and bowed.

Katsura threw them a small wave as he walked out the gates.

"Now as for you Kenshin, why don't you go bathe and rest up? You must be really tired." Tomoe gave a small smile. Kenshin nodded and walked away. Tomoe left to her room while Aoshi and Misao went to go train with other fighters on the other side of the training ground.

-----------Katsura-----------

He walked along a small path along the outskirts of the city. He walked along until he reached a small hut that overlooked a rocky hillside with the perfect view of the moon.

"It's been a while Katsura. How's the princess?" A man with long black hair and dark eyes asked as he brought the bottle of sake to his lips. His white coat fluttered in the wind, showing the red on the inside and his red kimono as well.

Katsura smiled and walked to the side of the man. "She's fine Hiko. I'm sure she would be glad to see you, it has been a while since you went to the palace."

Hiko smirked. "It has. Maybe one of these days I will. Want some sake?" He picked up another bottle and held it in the air.

Katsura shook his head. "No thank you." He paused. "I saw Kenshin today."

A short laugh was heard. "My idiot apprentice?!"

Katsura nodded. "It turns out that he's Tomoe's new bodyguard along with Aoshi and Misao. Yukishiro-dono said that Kenshin saved her life twice and when he first saw Kenshin, he immediately knew it was your apprentice. Well since you described to us how he would become an excellent swordsman because you were the one training him." He paused. "He has ambition and wonderful strength. Very calculating and good at predictions, something he needs for battle."

Hiko nodded and laughed. "Of course! I'm the best."

"But he's a rather stoic person."

Hiko nodded in agreement and then smirked. "So what happened?"

"I sparred with him."

"Did you lose?"

Katsura shook his head with a smile.

Hiko sneered. "That little brat trained under me and he lost? What has he been learning all these years?! He doesn't deserve the name Kenshin; he should just go to being _Shinta_."

Katsura laughed. "We had a draw."

"Alright! He isn't good for nothing then! As expected since he trained under me."

"Still as high and mighty as ever."

Hiko just smirked and brought the sake bottle to his lips.

"Yukishiro-dono is thinking about sending him off to kill some of the enemies, having him be an assassin and a bodyguard." Katsura's relaxed look became serious.

"Hm…"

"He's barely a man, the same age as Tomoe and he might have to kill all those men."

Hiko sighed. "It's war. Boys become men and learn how to kill. He just has to try to live his life to the fullest and die without regret."

"…"

"It was probably 10 years ago when I found him. He was traveling with his family or something, who knows. But they were attacked, every one of them died except for him. Managed to save him in time, lucky right?" He paused as he looked at the moon and took a sip for sake. "He saw the most gruesome sight of his life. His loved ones killed one by one in front of him. I saw him the next day, instead of what a normal kid would be doing, crying on the street, he made his one burial site for his family; buried them one by one all on his own." He took another sip. "So either way, I don't think he'll see anything more gruesome than that night."

"…" Katsura was keeping his gaze on the moon as well. "Who knows. That kid will have a long journey ahead of him."

"Mhm." He took another long sip. "Hey, shouldn't you be getting back to your wife?"

"Ah, you're right." Katsura gave a friendly smile. "Until next time." He turned and walked away.

"Mhm, until next time." Hiko threw his head back and drank the last drop of sake. He looked at the moon, "Maybe I will visit." He had a small smile and shook his sake bottle. "But before that, I'll get myself some more sake."

* * *

**Alright!!!**

**there's chapter 5!! :D**

**hope you guys liked it!!**

**sorry i've been like uber busyyy and brain dead on how to write this chapter :/**

:)**: Haha, how strange, just a smiley face x] lol haha thanks for thinking its...pretty? lol but seriously thanks!! :D**

****GinsengH**: I replied in a verrrrryyyy long messaggeee a longgggg time ago! butttt side note: I REALLY LOVE YOUR USER! :D So original! lol i love ginseng the tea :) i'm so asian like that. ^^ **

**Well i'm glad you guys liked the last chapter :) hope you enjoy this one too!**

**_-sportiegrl out~_  
**


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